The light that illuminates my AC/Heater vent buttons, as well as the fan knob slowly dimmed away to nothingness. Is there anyway to replace this bulb, or is it some kind of LED, or do i have to buy a new unit??????? Anyone - help???

 

(and no, i didn't turn the dimmer switch down without noticing. The speedo light works fine) 96- Legacy LS

and why does no one like me?

The light that illuminates my AC/Heater vent buttons, as well as the fan knob slowly dimmed away to nothingness. Is there anyway to replace this bulb, or is it some kind of LED, or do i have to buy a new unit??????? Anyone - help???

 

I have never worked on a 96 Legacy, but I think the Chiltons manual goes that

up to 1996. Take a look on E-bay and pick yourself up one for cheap.

 

I can take a look tonight and give you some idea of how to replace the bulb

Nah! You are not screwed. Maybe a little confused.

 

I had a 1995 Subaru Legacy, a truly wonderful car.

 

The light bulbs in the heaters and such went out in mine as well. My nephew and I replaced the light bulbs which they were several in a couple of hours the dealer wanted well over $100 in labor, pretty obscene. At that time the bulbs cost about $10 from the dealer and the only place I could get them was the dealer.

 

Basically you have to pull out the center console up to the dash. If I recall it was not especially difficult. Do be careful with the radio and all of the cables for the heater and such.

By the way I do believe that there were two different bulbs so be sure to have them labeled as to where they go and notice them as you remove them.

 

Only problem I had was a buggered the cigarette lighter and had to buy a replacement at the local auto parts store, it was tough to get out.

 

Buy the bulbs first! They had to special order them at the local Subaru Dealership.

 

So either pay the man at the dealership or get your screwdriver out and go for it.

 

 

Good Luck

Hey man,

 

There's always a social dynamic, but I think that certain topics just get more attention than others (i.e. ECU, Headgaskets, and, of course, any listing by a female or at least female username) for better or for worse - no personal slight. If you are secure in your own masculinity, you could always re-register with a feminine username; I'm sure you'd get 10 responses per posting. In any event, I don't have the same car, but I've pasted a copy of instructions for radio removal from another posting I made, which might help you out:

 

)If AT, put shift lever to "1" position.

2)Disconnect Battery Ground Cable (Negative Terminal)

3)Remove console trim (there are two screws under the lid of the center console)

a)Engage parking brake.

b)Open center console cover and remove parking brake trim caps (2), phillips screws (2) and flat washers (2). Pull upward and back to remove parking brake trim.

c)Remove shift trim by pulling upward and back (You won't need to totally remove this part, just pull it back in order to remove the radio trim).

4)Remove radio trim

a)Remove ashtray.

b)Pull radio trim outward from the bottom and disconnect cigarette lighter or socket. This is the trickiest part: the bottom part will come out rather easily, but the there are two fasteners at the top, located on the sides at the climate control unit, that are a bit stubborn. It's a fragile piece so you will need to be careful about where you pull it - grasp on the sides of the trim b/t the top and the horizontal piece separating the climate control and the radio (which you should not pull on because it is so delicate) and firmly pull it straight out. It will come straight out with a firm tug. Good luck, and enjoy.

 

At this point, you need only to remove two screws to lift the Climate control unit out, and I imagine you only need to replace the bulb. Also, check to see if your owner's manual lists the bulb(s) you need. Good luck.

A better topic title would have helped.

 

There is a ton of info in this thread. Probably everything you ever wanted to know about climate control lighting. Scoobymods (sp?) has a good post on this too, with pics.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2498&highlight=backlight

 

Commuter

Thanks everyone for the help, mucho good info. and maybe i'll try out that female user-name idea:brow:

I went to Suburban Subaru and got the lights i needed. $6.75 for all 3, not bad. They are in and working. thanks for the help.

and why does no one like me?

I think its that rediculouse cat woman outfit you insist on wearing